Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC) has announced a net profit of KD14.29 million ($47.08 million) for the nine months ended December 31 2019 of the financial year 2019-20, compared to KD15.61 million ($51.42 million) for the same period last year.

The net profit was lower by 8 per cent due to lesser share of income from QPIC’s associate company, Kuwait Aromatics Co (Karo), said a statement.

Earnings per share (EPS) for the three quarters stood at 13.88 fils ($45.73 cents) compared to 15.03 fils ($49.51 cents) during the same period last year, it said.

Consolidated gross profit increased 16 per cent to reach KD54.71 million ($180.23 million) from KD47.09 million ($155.13 million) reported for the same period last year owing to the increase in sales revenues during the period, it added.

As at December 31, total consolidated assets stood at KD789.55 million ($2.60 billion), compared to KD731.13 million ($2.40 billion) on March 31, 2019, representing an increase of 8 per cent mainly due to the acquisition of a 60 per cent stake in Jassim Transport & Stevedoring Co (JTC).

QPIC’s chairman Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said: “QPIC’s well-balanced and diversified investment portfolio has enabled the company to withstand the various challenges around the globe, especially concerning the petrochemical markets.”

“We remain actively seek new local and regional investment opportunities that complements the balance of its investments portfolio and meet our shareholders’ needs,” he added.

QPIC’s vice chairman and chief executive officer Sadoun Ali said: “The announced results were overall inline with our expectations and supported by our well-diversified investment portfolio.”

“As the witnessed slowdown in profitability from our investments within the petrochemical sector was offset by the positive contribution from our non-petrochemical investments. In particular, Saudia Dairy & Foodstuff Company (Sadafco), which witnessed a healthy recovery in performance and profitability compared to the previous year, as well as the additional income from our most recent acquisition, JTC,” he said.

“We expect our investments to show further improvement in the upcoming future, supported by the added value that our new investments bring to the company,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service

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